Brain-damaged Archie died in hospital on Saturday after weeks of legal battles to extend his life support. In a statement issued through the Christian Law Center, which is advocating for the boy’s family, his mother and father said they felt “backed into a corner by the system, which has stripped them of all our rights.” They called for an “investigation and inquiry through the proper channels into what happened to Archie”, adding: “We will demand change.” Archie Battersbee’s brother Tom Summers with him in hospital (PA) The 12-year-old had been in a coma since he was found unconscious by his mother Hollie Dance in April and was being kept alive by a combination of medical interventions, including ventilation and medication. Doctors treating the student for the past four months declared Archie “brain dead”, prompting a long but ultimately unsuccessful legal battle by his family to continue life support treatment in the hope he would recover. Speaking outside the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, Mrs Dance said her “beautiful baby boy” died at 12.15pm on Saturday. Christian Concern said the family wanted to challenge the High Court decision arguing that there had been a breach of articles six and eight of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article six is the right to a fair trial and article eight is the right to respect for private and family life. The distraught family announced Archie’s death on Saturday (PA) The family said: “Yesterday we lost our beautiful boy Archie. He has fought against all odds since April and we are so proud of him. “We are grateful for the tremendous support we have received from so many different people. We are grateful to our legal team and others who stood by us as we faced these difficult challenges. “We want something good to come out of this tragedy and the horrible experience we had with the system. “No parent or family should have to go through this again. We have been forced to fight a relentless legal battle by the Hospital Trust while facing an unimaginable tragedy. Mother Hollie Dancem pictured with her son says the pressure was ‘unbelievable’ (PA) “We were backed into a corner by the system, stripped of all our rights and had to fight for Archie’s true ‘best interests’ and right to live with everything stacked against us. “This has now happened all too often to parents who do not want their seriously ill children to be taken off life support. “The pressure of the process was incredible. “There needs to be an inquiry and investigation through the proper channels into what happened to Archie and we will demand change.” Alistair Chesser, chief medical officer at Barts Health NHS Trust, said: “Archie Battersbee died on Saturday afternoon at the Royal London Hospital after treatment was withdrawn in accordance with court orders in his best interests. “Members of his family were present at the bedside and our thoughts and deepest condolences remain with them at this difficult time. “The trust would like to thank the medical, nursing and support staff in the pediatric intensive care unit who looked after Archie following his horrific accident.”
